Nature article directed at non-scientists, introducing 20 lines of questioning that can be used to evaluate scientific claims.

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Strengths

The article includes a very diverse list of things to consider when evaluating scientific evidence. It does not deal with evaluating the data, but with evaluating things like assumptions, arguments, and sampling methods.

Concerns

The article does not stand alone as an academic resource. It introduces topics using accessible terminology, but does not develop each concept to the point that students could apply them without further instruction. If students were asked to read one of the 20 points in this article, an instructor could use that brief paragraph as the starting point for classroom discussion.

Recommendations for use

The article could be used as the roadmap for an entire section of class, or any one of the twenty points could be used to introduce just one subtopic that relates to evaluating scientific arguments.